Colin Farrell offered lead role in Winter's Tale

A remake of the 1990 sci-fi action film of the same name, starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Biel & Ethan Hawke. Like the original, this reboot is inspired by the famous short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick. For factory worker Douglas Quaid (Farrell), the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life - real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man as he finds himself on the run from the police.

The 'Total Recall' star is the top choice for writer and director Akiva Goldsman to star in the supernatural drama based on Mark Helprin's 1983 novel of the same name alongside 'Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay.

The film - which is set in both the 19th century and contemporary day - tells the story of a dying young woman (Jessica) who falls in love with a thief (Colin) who breaks into her West Side Manhattan mansion

Amazon's synopsis of the novel states: ''One night in winter, Peter Lake-orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side.

''Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the love between Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar, and Beverly Penn, a young girl, who is dying.

''Peter Lake, a simple, uneducated man, because of a love that, at first he does not fully understand, is driven to stop time and bring back the dead. His great struggle, in a city ever alight with its own energy and beseiged by unprecedented winters, is one of the most beautiful and extraordinary stories of American literature.''

However, if Colin turns down the role, studio Warner Bros. has drawn up a short list of actors who could take his place including Benjamin Walker, Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, Aaron Johnson, Garrett Hedlund and Liam Hemsworth.

Russell Crowe and Will Smith are set to take on supporting roles with filming due to begin in New York on October 15.